


Encounters with the Doctor

by michellichand



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Avatar, Crossover, Gen, Multiple Doctors (Doctor Who), Spoilers for Avatar: The Legend of Korra
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:40:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24749251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/michellichand/pseuds/michellichand
Summary: When you're the Avatar, you meet a lot of strange people. And sometimes, you meet different people who just happen to be the same person. A chronicle of Avatar Korra's encounters with the many lives of the Doctor.
Kudos: 5





	Encounters with the Doctor

Korra struggled against her bedsheets, the icy cold wind clashing against the flop sweat peppered all over her forehead. _Another nightmare_ , she cursed under her breath. Each one worse than the last.

This was not how things were supposed to go in Republic City. This was supposed to be a new chapter for her. And now, here she was, unable to get more than a few hours of sleep every night, trudging her way through endless training hours, always looking over her shoulder wherever she went. Her fists clenched as she pictured Amon’s mask, staring back at her, _smiling_. The things she would do to him when she got the chance. He’d regret the day he ever threatened her or her friends. And Korra wouldn’t let him get anywhere near her. She’d beat the White Falls Wolfbats at the finals, and then she’d send Amon scurrying back whatever hole he came out of.

Her eyes drifted over to her window, staring at the distant lights of Republic City. Well, now that she had gotten all riled up, there’s no way she would manage to go back to sleep. Might as well put that time to good use, right?

Whenever Korra wanted to practice away from prying eyes (namely _Tenzin’s_ prying eyes), she’d always make her way towards this rather secluded spot on the southern part of Air Temple Island. It was right next to a White Lotus watchtower, yes, but for some reason, the guards never bothered to look down and see her practicing her bending against some dummies she had stolen from the temple. A couple of minutes later, and Korra was back in her secret clearing, sending a few well-aimed blasts at one of the dummies, who had seen much better days.

“… _to all you night cat owls,_ ” The deep voice of the late-night radio announcer echoed from the White Lotus watchtower, prompting Korra to stop and look up. “ _I’m signing off, but not without a few kind words to all my listeners. Stay safe. Things are getting weird out there. Alright. Have a great night._ ” A drum and pipa song took over, and Korra could even hear the guards rustling back into action after a few long minutes of laying around.

But it took her less than a second to realize she was hearing something else too: footsteps.

Korra spun around, raising her hands, pointing them in the direction of a particularly thick section of the forest. Large trees and dense foliage clouded her vision, but she could still hear the footsteps, growing louder, approaching her. To make matters worse, suddenly, the music coming from the watchtower’s radio began to get… _distorted_. She had heard this once before, when Amon took over the airwaves.

Rage fueled her blood, but terror chilled her skin. Was this part of a plan? Was Amon about to emerge from the forest and announce that they had taken over Air Temple Island? Korra could feel the tips of her fingers trembling, and all she could do was tighten her fist, ordering the earth beneath her to get ready.

“… of course, you had to drop me off miles away from the temple!” A sharp, clearly female voice echoed from the forest. Korra’s shoulders eased up a little- no Equalist would have announced their presence like this- but she remained steady. “Well, I take offense to that. I never know where I’m going.”

The voice’s owner soon stepped out of the shadows and into the moonlight: it was a woman, yes, but one unlike anything Korra had ever seen before. For starters, her hair was _yellow_ , which raised its own set of questions. But her clothes looked like something that Asami’s rich friends would wear… if they wanted to be made fun of. A large, grey coat hung over a black shirt with what looked like a rainbow etched on it. Her blue pants were hitched up to her waist, held in place by yellow straps. The only thing that looked remotely normal about her was her boots. But the strangest thing was the little piece of metal the woman held in her hand, because its tip was not only colored orange, but it also glowed like a beautiful gem.

“Because that spoils the fun, of course!” The woman said out loud to no one in particular, prompting Korra to slide back into her attacking stance. “And besides, this planet is not exactly-“ She stopped once her eyes met Korra’s, at which point she lowered her glowing gem and put on the biggest smile in the world. “Oh, Korra! It’s you!”

“Who are you?!” Korra snapped back. Was this is a trick?

“Oh, love what you’ve done with the hair. And the clothes. But isn’t the wedding about to start?”

Korra had to raise an eyebrow at that. “Wedding?”

“Yes!” The woman stepped forward, and Korra got ready to attack once more. “Oh, we’re late to a wedding! I’ve always wanted to do that, but I used to have a thing about being on time. That was also back when I really loved leather.” She kept on prattling, walking past Korra and looking at the distant Republic City skyline. “Huh. That’s weird. Where’s the big portal?”  
  
“I don’t know who you are, or what you’re even talking about,” Korra pointed at her (if this woman wanted to hurt her, she would have likely done so much earlier). “Are you with the Equalists?!”

The woman looked at the skyline, then at Korra, then at the skyline, then at Korra, and finally, her eyes widened. “Gah!” She slapped herself in the forehead. “I’m early!” She then stopped, looked at Korra and smiled again. “Ah, so that’s what it feels like when you’re on the other side.”

"Are you crazy?” She replied. “Who are you? What are you doing here?.”

“I don’t know if I can tell you. I’m early, you see.” The woman slid the gem into her pocket and pulled out a small leather-bound diary. “Ugh. Still don’t like the design.” She flipped through the pages, poking her nose in, nodding along to the words. “You don’t know who I am. Do you know who the Zygons are?”

“The what?”  
  
“Oh, I’m _really_ early.” She went back to her diary, and Korra tried to step closer, to steal a glance at it. She got as far as the word ‘ _statue_ ’ before the woman shut the diary. “Spoilers.” She muttered, before smiling again. “Now I see why River did that all the time.” She pointed a finger at Korra. “Amon, right? Scary bloke in a mask?”

Korra sputtered like a broken Satomobile. “Are you with him?”

“Never.” The woman replied, suddenly serious. “Not after all you told me. I still remember all of it.” She tapped the side of her head. “The night he lured you to memorial island. The things he said to you, about being a martyr? I hate people like that. Like him.”

Korra had to fight the urge to show just how surprised she really was. “How do you know that?” She asked, the fear slipping into confusion. She had only told one other person about her encounter with Amon at memorial island, and this woman certainly wasn't him. “I’ve never seen you before in my life.”

“Never seen me _yet_.” The woman suddenly placed her hands on Korra’s shoulders and smiled widely. “Oh, Korra! Avatar Korra! You’ve got such a bright fut—no, no, spoilers. Oh, now I _really_ see why River did it all the time.” She took a step back, brushed some dirt off her coat and held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, I’m the Doctor—”

Before Korra could even say a word, a jet of water sprouted from the forest besides her, trapping the woman in a small ice block from her shoulders to her feet. Her survival instincts flared up, and fearing an Equalist attack, Korra sent a chunk of rock right back at the perpetrator, before remembering the Equalists had no benders on their side. Indeed, she had hit a poor White Lotus guard right in the gut, and had to grin and bear it as a small squad emerged out of the woods, accompanied by a rather distraught Tenzin.

“Korra! Get away from her!” He announced, rushing to stand in between Korra and the woman. “Stay back. This woman somehow invaded the island without any of us noticing. She’s most likely extremely dangerous!”

“Tenzin!” The woman- or was it the ‘Doctor’- struggled to speak from inside her icy cocoon. “It’s nice to see you two. Oof,” She added in a hurtful whisper. “Never liked this ice thing, not one bit. Not my favorite type of bending. Sorry, Korra.”

“Take her.” Tenzin instructed the guards, two of which used their bending to slide the Doctor’s ice cube into a little rock cart. “I’ve already alerted Lin, but make sure to keep your eye on her at all times. And don’t let her anywhere near the temple!”

“Lin! Oh, I miss her too.” The Doctor yelled out. “Is this before or after—gah, spoilers! Sorry!” She turned to the guard right besides her. “Oh hey. I think I’ve seen you before. Or was it after? Still figuring that out. When are you guys going to unfreeze me? I don’t really like the cold. Not my favorite.” She kept on prattling, her voice audible even as she disappeared into the woods with the guards escorting her.

Tenzin waited until the woman was far away to turn towards Korra. “Oh, thank the spirits, you’re safe.” He gasped out. “When they told me someone had invaded the island, when I saw your room empty, I thought—I really thought that—"

“She knew me.” Korra whispered, before raising her voice and repeating it. “But I don’t know her.”

“Did she tell you why she’s here, or how she got here?” Tenzin continued, even as Korra’s eyes were squarely focused on the spot the Doctor had occupied not seconds ago. “We couldn’t find any boats, and no sign of waterbending… she might be an Equalist for all we know, Korra, here to capture you… or worse.”

“Tenzin, she knew about what happened at memorial island. She knew exactly what Amon said to me.” Korra could feel her fingers trembling yet again.

Tenzin’s eyes widened, and he followed Korra’s gaze to the forest. “That’s impossible. The only people who know about that are you and me.”

“I know!” Korra yelled with such anger that even Tenzin took a step back. “You think that’s not freaking me out?” She turned back towards the forest. “She’s not an Equalist… no Equalist would have passed up that chance to attack me. But she knows things no one else is supposed to know.”

Silence. Tenzin held out his hand, trying to reach for Korra’s shoulder. “Did she tell you her name?”

Her eyes met his, and she shrugged. Korra crossed her arms, trying to hide the shakiness that was spreading throughout her body, the same shakiness that had powered her nightmares, her fears, her uncontrollable rage. “Just…” She sighed. “Just ‘the Doctor.’”

Tenzin narrowed his eyes. “Doctor who?”

* * *

**REVOLUTION**

**PART 1**

* * *

Korra’s eyes remained focused on the door, now heavily guarded by two Republic City metalbenders, as all around her, police officers and air acolytes scurried to and fro. None of them bothered her, probably because of how conflicted she looked at that moment. Still, despite the noise, she focused all of her attention on the door.

Her heart skipped for a moment when the door opened. Lin walked out, looking angry and annoyed (like she always did). Her eyes scanned the area for a moment, and then finally settled on Korra. “Whoever that woman is, she’s certainly not an Equalist.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “And I’m not sure she’s all there.”

“What do you mean?”

“She won’t stop talking about how she’s—”

“Early.” Korra said, nodding. “But did she tell you anything else?”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. Every time we ask her questions, she just says that she’s early. And she keeps going on and on and on. Spirits, she’s like a broken clock. She really does not stop talking!”

“Did she say anything about you?” Korra asked.

Lin raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean, about me?”

“She knew Tenzin.” Korra muttered. “I figured maybe she knew you.”

“Huh. Tenzin didn’t tell me that.” At that moment, the man himself appeared, heading up towards them with a look of solemn concentration. “Everybody safe?”

“Pema is with the kids and with a couple of your officers.” Tenzin replied. “Just in case.” He added when Korra looked at him confused. “You never know. This woman might be hiding a thing or two up her sleeves. We don’t even know her name.”

“The Doctor.” Korra added, staring at the door once more.

“That’s not a name!” Tenzin shouted. “That’s like—”

“—like calling Korra just Avatar?” Lin chuckled. “Yeah, I buy it. And this Doctor apparently knows a lot about you too, Tenzin. Which kinda narrows it down.”

Tenzin sighed and then nodded. “And that makes her extremely dangerous.”

“I don’t know. I’ve seen dangerous people. You can tell by the eyes.” Lin scratched her chin. “I’m not saying she’s not a danger to us, Tenzin. But if she is… she’s pretty good at hiding it.”

Korra balled up her fists. Why were they wasting so much time wondering and pondering what this woman’s secrets were? She was right there. Without saying a word, Korra strode forward and threw the door open. The four police officers inside all stood up in attention when they saw her. The Doctor looked up from her handcuffs and smiled once more.

“Hello, Korra.” She leaned back on her chair, smiling widely. “Did I say I love what you’ve done with the hair? I really do. You should wear it like that more often—once it grows.”

“Stop that!” Korra bellowed, and the Doctor sat up in attention, as Tenzin and Lin walked into the room. “Look. You’re clearly not here to attack me, because if you were, you would have done that already. So what are you here to do? And who are you?”

“I already told you.” The woman smiled again. “I’m the Doctor. As for what I’m here to do… I’m here to get something, for a friend. You see, she’s very anxious right now. She’s about to ask a really important question to someone she loves. And I told her I’d get her something that’s very important to her.”

Korra stared long and hard at the Doctor’s face. She was never the best at figuring out whether people were lying or not, but this woman seemed to be pretty honest. “Who is it?”

The Doctor shrugged and shook her head. “Sorry. Spoilers.”

“Will you stop saying that dumb word?”

“It’s a very fun word to say. I’d put it in my top one hundred words.” The Doctor looked away for a moment, talking to herself. “But then I’d have to kick out jelly babies. And neutron flow. I love saying neutron flow.” She looked back at Korra. “Top one thousand. Look, I’m really sorry about this. I’d love to get off your hair, but…” She raised her shackles and nodded at them. “You’re keeping me here.”

Lin cackled from the back of the room. “Give us one good reason to let you walk free.”

The Doctor squeezed one eye shut, stuck out her lip and CLICK, the handcuffs fell to the floor, clattering almost as loudly as the barrage of footsteps outside the room. Her hands immediately went up as the jaws of every police officer in the room went down. “Ta-da!” She massaged her wrists. “Learned that one from Houdini.” As every metalbender in the room put up their fists, the Doctor put up her finger. “I also learned something else from Houdini that you guys do not want to see. So let me just grab something in my pocket, okay?”

The next few seconds seemed like hours, as every single person in the room, even Korra, carefully observed the Doctor’s movements. With one hand still up in the air, she dug through her coat’s pockets, and pulled out a small string necklace with a stone hanging off it. She held it up, and everyone leaned forward to take a closer look—until a gasp echoed from the door.

“How?” Tenzin mumbled, surprised. It seemed as if the entire temple had gone silent. Korra couldn’t even hear anyone walking outside the room like before. “How did you get that?”

“That’s the thing.” The Doctor replied, smiling. “You gave it to me. A few years from now.”

“That can’t be.”

“Exactly.” The Doctor nodded. “You know where it is, right?”

Tenzin’s trembling hands reached into the collar of his shirt, pulling out that exact same necklace. And now, Korra could see that the small stone wasn’t just any small stone, for an Air Nation symbol had been rather poorly etched into it. “Wow. Whoever did that does not know how to draw.” Korra teased, hoping to bring some levity into the situation.

“My Dad made it for me. When… when I first got my tattoos.” Tenzin mumbled solemnly, prompting Korra to rub the back of her neck awkwardly whilst Lin raised her eyebrow and rolled her eyes. Taking a deep breath, Tenzin held out the necklace as the Doctor did the same.

It was clear. They were the same necklace.

“Do you understand what this means?” The Doctor murmured. “I’m a time tr—"

“You’re a time traveler.” Korra hissed, as every eye in the room turned towards her. “What? It was easy to figure out. You said that Tenzin gave it to you in the future, right? And you seem to know a lot about me.” Every eye in the room remained on her, and she threw her hands up. “Oh, c’mon, guys! Is it any weird than all the spirit stuff I’m supposed to know?”

“Yes.” Tenzin placed the necklace back inside his shirt. “Because such a thing is not possible.”

“Oh, Tenzin, your definition of ‘possible’ is about to change.” The Doctor babbled, turning towards the rest of the group. “Yes. She’s right. I’m the Doctor. I’m a time traveler.”

“Okay, let’s suppose I believe all of this birdspit.” Lin pushed herself off the wall and walked over to the Doctor, shoving a finger right in her chest. “If you’re a time traveler, how do you do it?”

The Doctor puffed up her chest. “I have a phone box.”

Silence.

“A _what_.” Lin grumbled.

The Doctor rolled her eyes- for some reason, Korra had a feeling she wasn’t used to explaining this. “Look, it’s…” She held up her hands and made a rectangle with it. “It’s a box, okay?”

“I know what a phone box is!” Lin snapped back. “I just think it’s stupid!”

“Well, I think it’s not as dumb as…” The Doctor snapped her fingers. “… as that whole business with the tea cup, the wooden dragoon and the vase twins!”

Korra had never seen Lin’s eyes go that wide before. “How did you-“ She sputtered, but the sudden burst of confusion soon gave way to regretful concession. “-she’s a time traveler.” Lin grumbled as she returned to her place besides Tenzin.

“Vase twins?” Korra asked under her breath.

“Don’t start, Avatar.” Lin growled back.

“And I’m not going to say anything more. I’m already mucking things up as it is!” The Doctor turned towards Korra. “Honestly, the only reason I’m telling you all this is because you’re going to meet me in a couple of months.”

Korra’s eyes brightened up, and she snapped her fingers. “Wait. I get it!” She pointed at the Doctor. “You’re from our future. But we’re… we’re from your past.” Again, all eyes were on her. “What? Am I going too fast?”

“There’s the Korra I like to see.” The Doctor grinned.

“Then, Doctor, about my future—"

The Doctor waved her hands, silencing Korra. “But really. I have to go. It’s been wonderful, though. It’s really been—” She stopped, facing the open door, and the room went back into silence. A deathly eery silence.

“What’s wrong?” Korra asked, raising an eyebrow. “Time travel jitters?”

“No, it’s…” The Doctor narrowed her eyes. “Where is everyone else?”

It took a moment for the people inside the room to catch up to the Doctor and realize that the sound of people patrolling the temple had disappeared. No footsteps, no wind, nothing. Korra peered outside and glowered once she realized the two guards that had been taking care of the room had disappeared as well. There was no one around. Absolutely no one.

Once more, everyone turned towards the Doctor. “This is not me.” She replied without even sparing them a glance. “I don’t remember you all telling me about this.”

She reached inside her coat and pulled out the gem from earlier. Now that she was closer, Korra could see the metal device looked like a small rod, filled with strange markings and buttons. The Doctor clicked one of them, and the gem lit up again. She waved it around the corridor and then brought it up to her eyes.

“This is not good.” She whispered. “Tachyon energy. Invisible to the eye. But it sticks to you when you time travel.”

“Which you just did.” Lin murmured from the back of the room. “Someone’s not that bright.”

“Except my phone box protects me from tachyon energy, Lin.” The Doctor narrowed her eyes at the metalbender, like a teacher chiding a schoolchild. “So where did this come from?”

That seemed to be enough to make Lin step into action. “You two, down that way.” Her hand flew through the air, pointing at one pair of officers, then at one end of the corridor. “Find everyone else. You two, down that way.” She stepped forward, pointing towards the other end—but her hand stopped in mid-air when she saw there was _something_ standing right there.

Korra didn’t know whether or not to laugh or gasp. For one, the thing was clearly not… normal. It looked like a large tube, ending in a round dome. Its exterior was definitely metallic… though its shine was unlike anything Korra had ever seen before. All over its sleek, angular body were strange circles that seemed to pulsate alongside Korra’s heartbeat. A stick and what looked like a sucker were attached to the middle of its body. And atop it all, poking out of the dome, was a large eyestalk, like an insect. An eyestalk focused right on her.

It was like a terrifying monster right out of a picture book. It looked really silly, when she thought about it. But on the way towards that conclusion, all her mind was telling her was ‘RUN’.

“No.” The Doctor whispered, her voice faltering, the usually cheery tone disappearing just like that. Had she been performing this whole time? “ _No._ ” She muttered again, fingers trembling and struggling to hold onto the device with the gem. “Not here. Not now.”

“What are these?” Korra whispered, surprised at just how fearful her voice seemed. She tightened her fists and assumed a fighting stance. No… she couldn’t be scared at such a stupid looking thing.

“Out of the way!” One of the police officers yelled, and before Lin could say anything, he thrust his hand forward, the cable shooting out of its wrist and wrapping around the strange being. Once it had latched onto its target, the officer tried to pull it forward… but the creature would not move.

Korra heard something whirring inside the creature, and before she could speak up, she watched as electricity arched across the cable, hitting the officer immediately and sending him down to the ground. Tenzin threw an arm in front of Korra, and she pushed him back. “Go to Pema!” She snapped at him, and he looked at her with wide eyes. “Now!”

“They’re safe!” Tenzin yelled back. “You’re the Avatar. You’re more important.”

She shook her head. “Don’t say that, Tenzin—”

“THE A-VA-TAR?”

Korra’s heart almost jumped out of her mouth. She slowly turned her head back towards the being, focusing past Lin and the other officer, who had taken their positions in front of her. That voice… could she even call it a voice? It was like rusted metal, squeaking against her ears. Just thinking about it made her spine tingle. She tried to focus on the creature’s form, but her mind was louder this time. _RUN RUN RUN._

“No.” The Doctor whispered again. This time, she turned towards Korra, and the façade of the babbling fool was gone. “Run.” She barked, like an order. “RUN!” She repeated, this time to Lin and the other officer.

“It’s metal, Doc.” Lin chuckled. “I don’t know how they handle things where you’re from, but this is my turf.”

“THE A-VA-TAR?!” The creature yelled again, its voice louder, angrier.

“No, it’s not.” The Doctor grabbed Lin’s arm, forcing her to look at her. “Lin, take your fallen soldier and run.”

“THE A-VA-TAR…” The creature chanted, creaking as it slowly moved forward.

Korra watched as the creature, the machine lurched forward, its disgusting eyestalk concentrated on her. She balled up her fists once more and did what she did best. Trying to ignore the voices on your head, she thrust her hands forward, sending up a jet of scolding hot fire towards the creature. The Doctor ducked down, backing away from the blast, as Tenzin joined her, producing a stream of air. The officer and Lin were next: he shot a few pieces of metal at the creature at lightning speed, while she bent the earth under the creature, causing the wooden floors to crack and give way to a box made out of rock, intending to trap it.

All those elements working together kicked up a huge dust cloud at the end of the corridor, and all that Korra could do was watch with baited breath as the cloud subsided… to reveal a rock wall, which Lin had erected between them and the creature.

“Let’s get out of here.” Lin declared. The officer besides her nodded and hoisted up his fallen partner over his shoulder. “Doc, you’re not going anywhere, until you tell us how to kick that thing back into whatever hole it crawled out from.”

“You can’t.” The Doctor replied, breathing heavily. “You can’t.”

“We sure did now.” Korra murmured, cracking her knuckles, trying to stop them from shaking. “Don’t know why you were so scared.”

The Doctor’s eyes focused on hers with such strength, that Korra almost fell back. “Don’t lie to me.” She said, in a tone that sounded like a warning.

“Lie to you? I…” Korra groaned, massaging her forehead. “You showed up out of nowhere, you’re the one causing this mess, if anything, you’re the one who’s lying! You knew about this, didn’t you?”

She breathed in and shook her head. “I would never hurt you like that or lie to you, Korra. So I ask you extend that courtesy to me.” The Doctor nodded at the other end of the corridor. “And now, we need to go. Because you didn’t stop that creature, Lin.”

Lin rolled her eyes. “Sure. I’m getting real tired of listening to you, Doctor.”

“That is not a Triple Thread Triad.” The Doctor muttered, before breathing in and rattling off the next few sentences. “That is not an Equalist, that is not Amon, that is not a threat you can just bend at and move on. That is a Dalek. A machine filled with nothing but hate. You can’t reason with it, you can’t bargain with it. All you can do is run until I figure out a solution. Because… because it will never stop.”

 _Crack_. Korra turned back, and her eyes widened at the sight of a small hole forming within the wall. A hole that grew bigger, and bigger, until something poked out of it. The eyestalk. That dark, deep, disgusting eyestalk. And it focused on her again.

“THE A-VA-TAR…” The Dalek chanted, its voice coursing through Korra’s ears. “… WILL BE EX-TER-MI-NA-TEEEEEEEEED!”

**TO BE CONTINUED**


End file.
